Futurism and fascism : the politicization of art and the aestheticization of politics, 1909-1944 / by Graziella Marchicelli.

This dissertation attempts to contribute to the current reassessments of the traditional notions of Futurism by presenting Futurism as a political movement, as an intrinsically ideological movement that was the true beginning of Fascism, and that Fascism, as a political entity, was a descendant branch of Futurism. This paper examines historiographically and chronologically the development of Futurism and the subsequent development of Fascism, focusing on the founders, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti and Benito Mussolini, respectively. A close study of the two movements reveals that Fascism shared not only the same general characteristics as Futurism, such as an ideological inclination towards a totalitarian state, an attitude of overpowering virility in which violence is the method of control, and a worship of technology as the source of international superiority; more importantly, Fascism shared Futurism's defining details, echoing the behavioral and rhetorical particularities first expressed in Futurist manifestos, performances and open confrontations.